Rick Pitino - Head Coach at St John’s University!!!

dk423 said:
Adding Dayton is equal to adding another Providence quality team this year, SLU is equal to adding a better DePaul. I don't think adding more mediocrity in the middle does anything.

We missed the boat not going all out for Gonzaga/St. Mary's, although it doesn't seem like they were interested in joining anyway.
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I think Gonzaga and to a lesser extent St Mary’s missed the boat through their own fault .
We already have these large Conferences putting teams from the West Coast into the ACC
So, the travel thing doesn’t hold water anymore .

Gonzaga has recently dropped from the top 25 , a rarity for decades and seems it might struggle to make the Tourney , except on past reputation .

Not being in one of these new Super Sized Leagues will diminish their brand .
 
paultzman said:
Dayton has strong following, fans who travel well and ample NIL apparently. I assume their recruiting appeal would possibly rise leaving A10 for BE.
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I don't know the circumstances of how decisions were made, but would Dayton have been a better choice than Butler? Since joining the league a decade ago, they initially looked good under Holtmann. But now have overall losing records in 4 of the past 5 seasons. Are they destined to be perennial bottom feeders of the league?
 
room112 said:
I don't know the circumstances of how decisions were made, but would Dayton have been a better choice than Butler? Since joining the league a decade ago, they initially looked good under Holtmann. But now have overall losing records in 4 of the past 5 seasons. Are they destined to be perennial bottom feeders of the league?
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At the time Butler joined the Big East (2013-14 season) they were a couple years off two NCAA dance finals in a row, something we've never done even once. After joining the Big East they made the Dance four years in a row from 2015 through 2018 including a sweet sixteen appearance in 2017. They have fallen on hard times since not making the dance in any of 2019-2024. However with that kind of tradition it's hard to say Dayton should have been taken over Butler. Dayton made the dance last year but before that nothing since 2018 either and won't make it this year unless they win their league tournament.
Both schools have great fan bases. With the advent of NIL, I'm not sure either would likely be anything but bottom third of Big East most years.
 
room112 said:
I don't know the circumstances of how decisions were made, but would Dayton have been a better choice than Butler? Since joining the league a decade ago, they initially looked good under Holtmann. But now have overall losing records in 4 of the past 5 seasons. Are they destined to be perennial bottom feeders of the league?





It’s a legitimate question about Butler . They had a great run under Brad Stevens until he left for the Celtics .

He should be on the Top of IU’s list to succeed Woodson .

You could raise the same questions about DePaul who haven’t been competitive for their entire BE tenure .

They have had their troubles for much of the last 2 Decades as we have had ,prior to Pitino .

They use to attract the Chicago City kids but , the best kids go to Academies or , BB Prep schools now and rarely go to DePaul .

Seton Hall might also descend into that lower tier also , due to NIL .
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NCJohnnie said:
At the time Butler joined the Big East (2013-14 season) they were a couple years off two NCAA dance finals in a row, something we've never done even once. After joining the Big East they made the Dance four years in a row from 2015 through 2018 including a sweet sixteen appearance in 2017. They have fallen on hard times since not making the dance in any of 2019-2024. However with that kind of tradition it's hard to say Dayton should have been taken over Butler. Dayton made the dance last year but before that nothing since 2018 either and won't make it this year unless they win their league tournament.
Both schools have great fan bases. With the advent of NIL, I'm not sure either would likely be anything but bottom third of Big East most years.
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Butler is exactly the school that makes me cautious about all of these schools. Hinkle is also an awesome venue to have in the league. Fans are great. Geography is also awesome (Indiana being a crazed basketball state, it's nice to have that).

But how can anyone be sure Dayton/St. Louis/VCU won't fall in that Big East middle, or, worse, be where Butler is?

I honestly have more faith in DePaul in the next five years. They've got a lot more money coming there way and finally have a real coach.

The only schools I want to add are ones that will be in the Marquette/Creighton/Georgetown/Villanova/STJ (!!!) tier of resources. I hate the Memphis fit on a lot of levels but they do have that. Or, already high-majors with BE ties in the past
 
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There needs to be bottom teams in each league. Because of this, schools leaving for “better” conferences, and more money, won’t always have it better on the court. Good for the school I guess, but not for the fans.

Arizona athletics are in a better spot financially. Their basketball program will not be the same powerhouse that they were atop the P12 as they will be amongst the 7-8 best big 12 teams. And Arizona is a successful example. Look at Cuse and BC for the other end.

Would butler fans rather be in the hunt for an A10 crown every year, our battle it out for top half BE finishes every few?
 
I have no interest in expanding without Gonzaga. Let’s just wait for the eventual ACC-Big East merger now that the Zags are in the Pac12.

It’s ridiculous that Washington and Oregon can play conference games at Rutgers, but we couldn’t make Gonzaga and St. Mary’s work.
 
Marillac2 said:
I have no interest in expanding without Gonzaga. Let’s just wait for the eventual ACC-Big East merger now that the Zags are in the Pac12.

It’s ridiculous that Washington and Oregon can play conference games at Rutgers, but we couldn’t make Gonzaga and St. Mary’s work.
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Syracuse lost to Miami tonight. They’ve become such an irrelevant loser program. Send them to the NEC or something.
 
dk423 said:
Butler is exactly the school that makes me cautious about all of these schools. Hinkle is also an awesome venue to have in the league. Fans are great. Geography is also awesome (Indiana being a crazed basketball state, it's nice to have that).

But how can anyone be sure Dayton/St. Louis/VCU won't fall in that Big East middle, or, worse, be where Butler is?

I honestly have more faith in DePaul in the next five years. They've got a lot more money coming there way and finally have a real coach.

The only schools I want to add are ones that will be in the Marquette/Creighton/Georgetown/Villanova/STJ (!!!) tier of resources. I hate the Memphis fit on a lot of levels but they do have that. Or, already high-majors with BE ties in the past
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The thing about Butler is they were really good for two decades before joining the Big East as a mid major, and of course had the two championship appearances. Their home court has history and they appear to at least have decent fan support. For example their last home game vs Providence had over 8K fans. Compare to a Seton Hall who is drawing less than 2K.

I make that point to say I'd comfortably take a shot on a program like Dayton who has some level of recent success but also very good fan support. I say if Creighton can be consistently good then why not any of these programs who have at least the support in place.
 
room112 said:
The thing about Butler is they were really good for two decades before joining the Big East as a mid major, and of course had the two championship appearances. Their home court has history and they appear to at least have decent fan support. For example their last home game vs Providence had over 8K fans. Compare to a Seton Hall who is drawing less than 2K.

I make that point to say I'd comfortably take a shot on a program like Dayton who has some level of recent success but also very good fan support. I say if Creighton can be consistently good then why not any of these programs who have at least the support in place.
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Creighton has Warren buffet
 
I love the idea of adding Dayton and St. Louis, but all the discussion of BC, 'Cuse, Duke, Wake etc begs the question of what you do about football? I doubt they are going to join the Big East to play in a four or five team football conference (with UConn).

Maybe I'm missing something, but that is a seemingly intractable problem...
 
RedmanMike said:
I love the idea of adding Dayton and St. Louis, but all the discussion of BC, 'Cuse, Duke, Wake etc begs the question of what you do about football? I doubt they are going to join the Big East to play in a four or five team football conference (with UConn).

Maybe I'm missing something, but that is a seemingly intractable problem...
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The idea would be scheduling arrangements with AAC
 
SLYFOXX1968 said:
I think Gonzaga and to a lesser extent St Mary’s missed the boat through their own fault .
We already have these large Conferences putting teams from the West Coast into the ACC
So, the travel thing doesn’t hold water anymore .

Gonzaga has recently dropped from the top 25 , a rarity for decades and seems it might struggle to make the Tourney , except on past reputation .

Not being in one of these new Super Sized Leagues will diminish their brand .
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The schools currently making these cross country trips are mostly bigger schools with bigger budgets and get more revenue than what Gonzaga would get from the Big East.
 
The key to any recapture of Syracuse , BC , Pitt to a reconstructed BE , with or without Gonzaga , is Notre Dame .

ND still has Media clout and a BE - ACC merger of sorts would provide enough Football Schools for them to stay in the FCS Championship flight .

Some BE Schools might have to be sacrificed in a Merger with ACC.


DePaul , Seton Hall , Providence , Butler likely candidates

I’m a bit wary of the ACC merger though . None of the former BE Schools have found success in BB in the ACC .

Rather the opposite , they all have dropped like anchors .
 
SLYFOXX1968 said:
Some BE Schools might have to be sacrificed in a Merger with ACC.

DePaul , Seton Hall , Providence , Butler likely candidates
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cmon... we can't hypothetically get rid of our Catholic brethren... (we'll allow Butler to stay lol)...

I'm for expansion, obviously, i think we need to ensure survival....
Big East North: UConn /SJU/ Cuse/ BC/ Prov /Hall
Big East West: Creighton / Marq / DePaul/ Butler/ X / Dayton
Big East South: Nova/ GTown/ Duke/ Wake / Virginia / Pitt

How sexy does that look...?
 
bucketshardy said:
cmon... we can't hypothetically get rid of our Catholic brethren... (we'll allow Butler to stay lol)...

I'm for expansion, obviously, i think we need to ensure survival....
Big East North: UConn /SJU/ Cuse/ BC/ Prov /Hall
Big East West: Creighton / Marq / DePaul/ Butler/ X / Dayton
Big East South: Nova/ GTown/ Duke/ Wake / Virginia / Pitt

How sexy does that look...?
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Very!
 
Re: Football schools.

Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me.

george bush GIF
 
dk423 said:
The idea would be scheduling arrangements with AAC
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I don't think that does anything for us in terms of long-term stability. The secret sauce of the Big East is that football isn't driving the train. Once we have an affiliation (even a "scheduling arrangement" with the ACC or another conference with football) we immediately become hostage to football.

I'd say let's add Dayton and St. Louis and be the best basketball league we can be.

The ACC is dying... Clemson, FSU, Miami, Pitt, Virginia Tech, SMU and UNC will chase the Big 10, SEC, Big 12, they will leave.

At that time the ACC will be some combination of Duke, Wake, UVA, Cal, Stanford, BC etc. Now if that group wants to figure out a merger with the Big East, that could be interesting - as long as we protect the basketball-only schools financially.
 
Redenbacher said:
And so it begins.....

www.cbssports.com

Indiana basketball coaching search 2025: Two names the Hoosiers must pursue, including Rick Pitino

Indiana has two options at opposite ends of the pedigree spectrum
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com
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Rick will have zero interest in Indiana, IMO. He's back home in New York, back home in the Big East, MSG, and is working for the one person who he admitted tempted him for 24 hours to leave Louisville (for Providence) in 2008 after schools like UCLA and Arizona immediately struck out when pursuing him. Leaving for Indiana would put him right back in a football-first conference; something that always annoyed him at Louisville due to constant league shakeups (Louisville played in four different conferences in 9 years between 2005-2014). Not to mention he'd also be right next to the state of Kentucky.... A place that houses tons of conflicting emotions for him. Despite Indiana's history as a storied program, I don't see one part of that situation that would be more enticing to Rick compared to what he has now.
 
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